Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

Learning and memory > Problem 5 > Flashcards

Problem 5 Flashcards

1
Q

Emotion

A

Refers to a cluster of 3 distinct but interrelated sets of phenomena

a) physiological responses
b) overt behavior
c) conscious feelings

–> induced by an emotional stimulus

–> innate + universal but outward expression may be modified by cultural learning

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Arousal/

Fight-or-flight response

A

Refers to a collection of BODILY REACTIONS that prepare one to face a challenge/threat

–> either by fighting or running away

ex.: blood pressure, increased heart rate

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

Autonomic nervous system

ANS

A

Refers to a collection of nerves + structures that send signals to the adrenal glands, which in turn release stress hormones

–> operate without conscious control

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Stress hormones

A

Hormones that turn the fight or flight response on or off

ex.: epinephrine/adrenaline, glucocorticoids

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

James-Lange theory of emotion

Somatic theory of emotion

A

States that conscious feelings of emotion occur when the mind senses the physiological responses associated with a certain kind of arousal

–> Physiological responses to stimuli come first, these determine/induce emotions

ex.: making an angry face, will elicit anger

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Cannon-Bard theory of emotion

A

Stimuli simultaneously evoke both emotions + arousal, with neither causing the other

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Two factor theory of emotion

A

States that our conscious emotional feelings depend not only on our biological responses but also on how we INTERPRET the SITUATION

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Given that fear is a negative emotion, why do people still want to see horror movies, that induce fear ?

A

Strong biological responses caused by a terrifying movie are similar to strong biological responses caused by intense joy/sexual pleasure

–> viewers will interpret the movie as pleasurable rather than threatening, due to safe environment

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Piloerection

A

Refers to a fear response in mammals in which body hair stands on end, making the animal look bigger + more threatening than it is

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Do physiological responses automatically equate with emotions in humans ?

A

No they don’t

–> the same physiological response can evoke many different emotions

ex.: When going out for a run, the increased heart rate doesn’t necessarily relate to fear

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Do animals show the same emotional responses as humans ?

A
  1. Physiological responses seem consistent across mammals
    - -> but can’t be sure which exact feelings are elicited
  2. Laughter like vocalizations were recorded
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

What is the reason for the “freezing response” ?

A

It is an innate fear response to a threatening situation which helps small animals too avoid predators

–> one can allocate full attention to sensory inputs to help it determine what + where the threat is

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Conditioned Escape

Operant conditioning

A

Refers to an experimental design in which animals learn to make particular responses in order to

a) escape from
b) terminate

aversive stimuli

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q 
Conditioned avoidance 
(Classical + Operant conditioning)
A

Refers to an experimental design in which animals learn to make particular responses to

a) avoid
b) prevent exposure

to aversive stimuli

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Two factor theory of avoidance learning

A

States that avoidance learning involves an interaction between classical + operant conditioning

–> explains why avoidance behaviors can be persistent

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Cognitive expectancies

A

Belief that animals learn the expected outcomes of responding/not responding and then make a decision to respond/not respond based on a comparison between the two

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

Learned helplessness

A

Exposure to an uncontrollable punisher teaches an expectation that responses are ineffectual, which in turn reduces the motivation to attempt new avoidance responses

ex. : prior exposure to an inescapable shock will teach the animal thad they can’t escape any shock
- -> even in operant learning phase

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

Which effect do emotions have on memory storage + retrieval ?

A
  1. Emotional events are more likely to be discussed more often
    - -> memories are repeatedly retrieved, rehearsed, strengthened
  2. Strongest memories are associated with strong emotions (positive/negative)
  3. Strong memories of strong emotional content comes at the cost of weaker memory for surrounding details
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

Mood congruency of memory

A

Principle that it is easier to retrieve memories that match our current mood/emotional state

ex.: Depressed people are more likely to recollect sad memories (vicious cycle)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

Flashbulb memories

A

Refers to a memory formed under conditions of extreme emotions that seems especially vivid + long lasting

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

Can flashbulb memories be trusted ?

A

Not necessarily,

  1. They are merely EMs experienced with great vividness + confidence
  2. Not easy to say whether details are fully correct
    - -> can be incomplete or contain inaccurate details
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

What are usually the causes for the inaccuracy in flashbulb memories ?

A
  1. Source monitoring
  2. False memories
    - -> when discussing memories, one might unconsciously fill in little gaps
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

Amygdala

A

Lies anterior to the hippocampus and has different separate nuclei with different input + output pathways

Critical in learned emotional responses + in emotional modulation of memory storage + retrieval

24
Q

Lateral nucleus

A

Is the primary ENTRY point for sensory information into amygdala

–> contains the direct + indirect pathways which play an important role in responding to fear-evoking stimuli

25
Q

Central nucleus

A
  1. Receives input from other amygdala nuclei
  2. Projects out of amygdala –> ANS + Motor centers

–> drives the expression of physiological + behavioral responses

ex. arousal, release of stress hormones + freezing, startle

26
Q

Basolateral nucleus

A
  1. Receives input from lateral nucleus
  2. Projects out of amygdala –>

a) Cortex
b) hippocampus
c) Basal ganglia

–> drives modulation of memory strorage + retrieval

27
Q

Skin conductance response

SCR

A

Refers to a tiny but measurable change in the electrical conductivity of the human skin that occurs when people feel arousal

–> mediated by Central nucleus of amygdala

28
Q

Indirect Pathway of the amygdala

A

Allows us to terminate the fear response if the stimulus isn’t threatening at all, by providing extra info

= Thalamus –> Cortex –> amygdala
“Slow but accurate”

29
Q

Direct pathway of the amygdala

A

Allows us to react quickly in a life + death situation

= Thalamus –> amygdala
“fast and rough”

30
Q

Optogenetics

A

Refers to a technique which causes specific cells to become sensitive to light, after which researchers can use light to turn those specific neurons “on” + “off” at will

–> used to manipulate individual neurons projecting to hippocampus + amygdala

31
Q

What did Optogenetics reveal about the functions of the lateral amygdala ?

A

As long as the lateral amygdala is active when the US arrives, conditioning will occur

32
Q

What does the degree of activity of the amygdala reveal about memory storage ?

A
  1. Determines whether new info is stored as an EM or SM
    - -> emotional arousal rather causes info to be stored as EM
  2. May provide a signal to strengthen the storage of information in declarative memory
  3. Without its activity info will still be stored, but not as strongly
33
Q

How does the amygdala influence memory storage ?

A

By releasing stress hormones

–> activity of the central amygdala

34
Q

Blood Brain Barrier

A

Is a membrane that controls the passage of substances from the blood into the CNS, including the brain

–> protects the brain from many chemicals that might otherwise enter + harm

35
Q

Epinephrine can’t affect the brain directly due to the blood brain barrier.

How does it overcome this obstacle ?

A
  1. Epinephrine activates the brain stem nuclei that produce norepinephrine (NE)
  2. NE is released to Basolateral amygdala
  3. Outputs travel to hippocampus + cortex

–> amount of NE released, predicts how well we’ll remember

36
Q

How might the release of norepinephrine into the basolateral amygdala affect EM storage in the hippocampus + cortex ?

A
  1. The activated neurons in the Basolateral amygdala project to neurons in hippocampus + cortex
  2. The rhythmic activation of these neurons facilitates LTP between the coactive neurons

–> this way the Basolateral amygdala facilitates learning in cortex + hippocampus

37
Q

When individuals return to a place where they experienced intense sadness or fear, they are sometimes struck with a fresh wave of grief/terror.

Why is that ?

A

Because the pathways of the amygdala to the hippocampus are reciprocal

–> singles from hippocampus that travel back to amygdala where these signals are incorporated into emotional processing

38
Q

Medial Prefrontal cortex

A

Allows us to process emotional stimuli in a manner appropriate to the context in which the stimuli occur

–> exerts control on our emotional reactions, by modulating outputs of amygdala

ex. : reaction to seeing a bear is different in zoo or woods
- -> helps people to maintain balance between too little + too much info

39
Q

Phobia

A

Is an excessive + irrational fear of an

a) object
b) fear
c) situation

40
Q

Specific phobia

A

Fear of particular objects or social situations

ex.: closed spaces, heights, spiders

41
Q

Agoraphobia

A

Generalized fear of leaving home or familiar “safe” areas

42
Q

What is the cause of a panic attack ?

A

Release of epinephrine in large amounts, triggering the fight or flight response

43
Q

What causes phobias ?

A

Classical conditioning

–> but some phobias might be conditioned though social transmission, as not everyone who has a fear evoking experience develops phobia

ex.: tv, stories etc

44
Q

Systematic desensitization

Extinction

A

Therapy in which successive approximations of the fear evoking stimulus are presented while the patient learns to remain relaxed

–> used to treat phobias

45
Q

When can VR-therapy be useful ?

A

If the desensitization process would be too expensive or dangerous

ex.: fear of flight

46
Q

Posttraumatic stress disorder

PTSD

A

Refers to a psychological syndrome that develops after exposure to a horrific event

–> symptoms include reexperiencing the event, avoiding reminders of the trauma, heightened anxiety

47
Q

What is the cause of PTSD ?

A

Classical conditioning

–> anything one might associate with the trauma will become the CS, can therefore be triggered by a wide variety of stimuli

48
Q

Why can’t patients with PTSD simply forget their unwanted memories ?

A

PTSD reflects reduced ability to use the prefrontal cortex

–> PFC inhibits hippocampal function and controls the recall of unwanted memories

49
Q

Extinction therapy

A

Requires the patient to repeatedly imagine + describe the feared situation under the guidance of a therapist

–> used to treat PTSD

50
Q

When is one more prone to develop PTSD?

A
  1. When the hippocampal volume is smaller than average

2. Heightened amygdala activity to negative emotional stimuli

51
Q

Algae protein channel rhodopsin

A

Allows influx of positive ions in response to illumination with blue light

  • -> “on” switch
  • -> depolarizes
52
Q

Archeal protein halorhodopsin

A

Allos influx of negatively charged chlorine ions in response to illumination with yellow laugh

  • -> “off” switch
  • -> hyperpolarizes
53
Q

Why does blocking the fear center projection impair fear learning + enhance reward learning ?

A

These neural circuits are interrelated

–> circuits in the Basolateral amygdala are involved in both fear + reward learning

–> one going to NAC or Central amygdala

–> if one pathway is active, activity of the other decreases

54
Q

Engram

A

Refers to a specific neural network that stores unique mores in the brain

55
Q

How did researches provide evidence for the fact that, positive memories can suppress negative memories, with the help of Optogenetics ?

A
  1. Placed transgenic mice in an environment that delivered shocks
    - -> negative memory
  2. With help of optogenetics, light sensitive protein was inserted into cells of hippocampus

–> light sensitive protein was linked with the hippocampal cells, making these cells light sensitive

  1. Shining light on these cells will now artificially reactivate the negative memory
  2. Then placed mice in a new environment that made them feel safe
  3. When light is now presented, hippocampal cells will acquire a new positive emotional association

Learning and memory (8 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions